Celtics’ Kendrick Perkins to return against Thunder, but Paul Pierce may be out

Jim Fenton

Wednesday

Mar 31, 2010 at 12:01 AMMar 31, 2010 at 1:01 AM

For 13 straight games this month, the Boston Celtics had their usual starting lineup intact.

It marked the longest stretch that Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins had been together since the opening 26 games of the season.

Injuries have limited the group to 50 of the 73 games with the Celtics going 36-14 using the starting unit of Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Perkins.

The recent streak ended last Friday night when Perkins missed the first of two consecutive games due to left knee tendinitis, but he will return to the starting lineup tonight.

Whether the Celtics will play a 51st game with their regular starters, however, is a question mark since Pierce had to leave practice on Tuesday afternoon when he aggravated a shoulder injury.

Pierce departed midway through the session when he suffered a stinger or nerve injury, and the team is taking a wait-and-see approach on his status against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the TD Garden (7:35 tonight, TV: Comcast SportsNet; radio: WEEI-AM/850).

“The good news it’s not a shoulder separation or anything,’’ said coach Doc Rivers, “and probably the worst is he misses a game or two and that’s not all bad.

“Obviously, you’d rather have him, but it’s not a lower-body injury which stops him from being explosive.’’

Pierce was initially injured in Sunday night’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs when he collided with Manu Ginobili. Pierce was hit on his left shoulder, but the pain went through his neck to the right shoulder where he experienced numbness.

He returned to the game after spending less than a minute on the bench and led the team with 37 minutes.

After taking Monday off, the Celtics returned to practice on Tuesday, and Pierce was having no trouble until he ran into a pick that forced him to the trainer’s room.

“He was actually having a great practice,’’ said Rivers. “He got back-picked and, bang, he went down. He had the same exact reaction. It looked worse today.

“Eddie (Lacerte, the team trainer) said it’s a stinger, and if it’s a stinger, he’ll be fine. But you get concerned because it’s a game and a practice, and the exact same thing happened. He just got picked and went down, so we’ll find out.’’

If Pierce is unable to play against Kevin Durant and the Thunder, Rivers will turn to either Marquis Daniels, whose playing time has been reduced in recent games, or Tony Allen.

Perkins had no trouble getting through his first practice since taking a seat to rest a knee that has been ailing him since January.

The Celtics opted to hold him out of games against the Spurs and Sacramento Kings as a precautionary move with the playoffs fast approaching.

“It feels all right,’’ said Perkins after the workout. “I thought I played pretty good at practice today. My knee felt better, so I’m just looking forward to going out there and playing (tonight).

“There’s a little bit (of soreness), but it’s probably something I’ve got to deal with for the rest of the season. I’ll just continue to get treatment. It was bothering me for like the last two months or so. Everybody has injuries in the league. Something’s hurting on everybody, so I’ve just got to keep dealing with it.’’

Perkins’ numbers have dropped in recent weeks, and it is likely his sore knee has had a lot to do with that.

“I think so,’’ said Perkins when asked if he has been less effective due to the injury. “I can’t get up and really block shots like I want to and get up and rebound. But I’ve got to get the job done. It’s not really about making excuses.’’

The Thunder are making their annual visit to the Garden as one of the surprise teams in the NBA. Oklahoma City is sixth in the Western Conference with a 45-28 record after Tuesday night’s 111-93 win in Philadelphia.

Durant, now in his third season, has developed quickly into one of the NBA’s top offensive forces, averaging 29.6 points prior to playing the 76ers. He finished with 26 points Tuesday.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Celtics looked like they might have a chance to draft either Greg Oden or Durant after stumbling through the 2006-07 season. But after having no success in the lottery, that went by the boards and they wound up trading for Garnett and Ray Allen.

Rivers said he would have taken Oden, who has struggled with injuries since going to the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I just wanted his size and all that,’’ said Rivers. “Anybody who tells you otherwise, they have amnesia. That’s all I’ll say. Everyone now says, ‘I was Durant, Durant.’

“I loved Durant, but I saw Oden’s size and I thought, ‘Go with Oden. Clearly, I would have made a mistake, but that’s where I was.’’

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